Development, plasticity and regeneration of neural circuits.

We use the mouse olfactory bulb as a model system to study development, experience-dependent plasticity and regeneration of neural circuits. We take a multidisciplinary approach, combining molecular genetic tools, in vivo structural and functional 2-photon imaging, high-resolution anatomical reconstruction, electrophysiology, optogenetics and behavior.

Uniquely in the mammalian brain, multiple populations of newborn neurons are continually incorporated into highly organized olfactory bulb circuits throughout life. Olfactory sensory neurons, which provide sensory input to the olfactory bulb, are generated from stem cells in the olfactory epithelium of the nose, while neuroblasts produced in the subventricular zone migrate to the olfactory bulb and differentiate into several different types of inhibitory interneurons. This endows the olfactory bulb with an extraordinary capacity for lifelong experience-dependent plasticity and even enables substantial regeneration following damage or loss of sensory input.

By understanding how newborn neurons promote plasticity and repair in the olfactory bulb, we hope to gain insight into how functional integration of stem cell-derived neurons might be promoted to repair damaged or degenerating neural circuits in other brain regions.